Stocks Rally, Pushing S&P Into The Black For 2014

By Teresa Rivas

Stocks climbed across the board Wednesday, with the Dow up triple points and the S&P 500 erasing losses for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed, 162.29 points or 1% to 16424.85, marking the biggest three day point and percentage gain since Dec. 18. The Nasdaq rose 52.06 points or 1.3% to 4086.23. The S&P 500 is up 19.33 points or 1.1% to 1862.31, and it is up 0.8% year to date. (Yesterday it was down 0.3% for 2014.)

Today’s rally marked stock’s third straight day of gains, and all three indexes are up five of the past seven trading days.

Stocks started the day strong, despite lackluster housing data, and the Dow had risen more than 100 points by midday. Investors shrugged off more drama in Ukraine, preferring optimism about further economic stimulus in China.

About Stocks To Watch

Earnings reports, corporate strategies and analyst insights are all part of what moves stocks, and they’re all covered by the Stocks to Watch blog. We also look at macro issues, investor sentiments and hidden trends that are affecting the market. Stocks to Watch gives you the full picture of the U.S. stock markets, all day long.

The blog is written by Ben Levisohn, a former stock trader who has covered financial markets for the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and BusinessWeek.